Finally, after weeks of waiting,
One morning after Appell
We marched off
As the orchestra played.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Eyes front.
Lines straight.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Past the guards and their dogs.
Past the SS officers.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Far from the strains of the orchestra.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Out of the shadow of the chimneys.
Beyond the stench of the smoke.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Feet ached.
Feet swelled.
Left,
Right.
Left,
Right.
Keeping in step.
Doing what I was told.
But looking toward the horizon,
Like Zlatka,
To see what it was she saw.